# harbor was not easy to spend the winter in

You can make explicit why it was not easy to stay in the harbor. AT: "harbor did not sufficiently protect docked ships during winter storms" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])

# harbor

a place near land that is usually safe for ships

# city of Phoenix

Phoenix is a city port on the south coast of Crete. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])

# to spend the winter there

This speaks about the season of winter as if it were a commodity that someone can spend. AT: "to stay there for the cold season" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# it faces northeast and southeast

Some versions say "it faces northwest and southwest." The sailors wanted to go to a place where they would be safe from the wind. The "face" of a harbor is a metaphor, like the "mouth" of a harbor, or the entrance of the harbor.  (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]]).

# northeast and southeast

These directions are based on the rising and setting sun. Northeast is a little to the left of the rising sun. Southeast is a little to the right of the rising sun.

# weighed anchor

Here "weighed" means to pull out of the water. An anchor is a heavy object attached to a rope that is secured to the boat. The anchor is tossed into the water and sinks to the bottom of the sea keeping the ship from drifting about.

# translationWords

* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/names/crete]]